A FEW GOOD MEN. - Ezekiel 22:30
(NOTE: Ladies i am not saying that your not an equal because you are but what I am doing is pointing out qualities that every man should have and needs to have. )
Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for
someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap
on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. "
Prerequisites to being a Good Father:
Being a man, functioning
as a man, taking responsibility as a man, thinking like a man, acting like a
man, working like a man, all of these are prerequisites to being a good Father!
You will not and cannot be a good
Father until you are a good Man.
It’s a dying art today…there are not many in our nation anymore.
Thank God we DO have a
few good men here…we can always use a few more!
THE MEN’S THESAURUS
(men don’t always say
what they mean) – ladies, please allow me to translate for your future benefit:
- When a man says “IT
WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN”
He means: "I have
no idea how it works"
- When a man says
"TAKE A BREAK, HONEY. YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD’’
He means: "I can’t
hear the game over the vacuum cleaner"
- When a man says ’THAT’S INTERESTING
DEAR.’
He means: "Are you
still talking?"
- When a man says:
"IT’S A GUY THING"
He means: "There is
no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all
of making it logical"
- When a man says
"CAN I HELP WITH DINNER"
He means: "Why
isn’t it ready yet?"
- When a man says "UH
HUH, SURE HONEY,” or “YES, DEAR"
He means: Absolutely
nothing – It’s a conditioned response.
- When a man says
"YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS."
He means: " I can
remember the theme song to ‘Hogan’s Heroes’, the phone # of the first girl I
ever kissed & the vehicle identification numbers of every car I ever owned
– but yes, I forgot your birthday"
- When a man says ’OH,
DON’T FUSS, I JUST CUT MYSELF. IT’S NO BIG DEAL"
He means: "I have
probably severed a limb, but I will bleed to death before I admit I’m hurt, so
get over here and help me!"
- When a man says ’I CAN’T
FIND IT.’’
He means: "It
didn’t fall into my outstretched hand, so I’m completely clueless"
- When a man says “I HEARD
YOU.”
He means: "I
haven’t the foggiest clue what you just said and I am hoping desperately that I
can fake it well enough so that you’ll not spend the next 3 days yelling at
me."
When a man says
"YOU KNOW I COULD NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE"
He means: "I am
used to the way you yell at me and realize it could be worse."
- When a man says
"YOU LOOK TERRIFIC!"
He means: "Oh
please don’t try on one more outfit, we’re late and I’m starving."
- When a man says
"I’M NOT LOST. I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.’’
He means: "No
one will ever see us alive again."
- When a man says “I don’t
think I can go today.”
He means: Shopping
is NOT a sport, and no, I am never going to think of it that way.
- When a man says, “I
don’t remember saying that.”
It’s because he
means: “Anything I may have said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an
argument. In fact, all past comments become null and void after 7 days.”
- When a man says, “that’s
not what I meant.”
He means: “If
something I said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad
or angry, I meant the other one.
- If your husband says,
“honey, what color is this?”
He means: ALL men
see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a
fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. I have no idea what “taupe” is.
We thank God today for the good men He’s sent us here.
Good men are:
Men Who
Have Learned to Lean [on the Lord]
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and
lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all
your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
For Salvation (Eph.
2:8, 9)
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.
We men are bad about
trying to be “in control”…to “make things happen.” Often ladies find it easier
to “rest in the Lord” and lean on Him for salvation. It’s a part of a woman’s
nature to place themselves in someone else’s hands. It’s not that way for men.
Is that fair?
Jesus solves this
dilemma:
Matthew 18:3 And he said: "Truly
I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven.
Children have that
attitude of trust, even male children…but something happens to us once we begin
to feel even the slightest amount of thickness in our “peach fuzz!”
B.
For Strength (Isaiah 40:30, 31)
Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young
men stumble and fall; (31) but those
who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Psalms 147:10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the
horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according
to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
We all want to be the
breadwinner/mighty hunter, but ultimately we need to see even our own selves as
being in God’s hands.
D.
For Soundness (Reasoning/Wisdom)
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask
God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to
you.
This is the one of only 2 prayers any man can pray which the
answer is always yes! [salvation-Romans 10:13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved."-is
the other]
I thank God for a few
good men who have learned to lean…
II.
Men Who Have Learned to Lead
A.
Their Flesh (Gal 5:16, 17; Gal 2:20)
Galatians 5:16-17 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not gratify the desires of the flesh. (17) For the
flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary
to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do
whatever you want.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
B.
Their Families (Ephesians 5:23)
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Ill.—bible says she is
the “weaker vessel”. This is not an insult…rather, it’s a compliment to her.
She is not less valuable, rather, she is more fragile, and in need of strong,
yet loving, leadership.
Women are like fine
silk. Men are more like corduroy. [have you heard the news about corduroy
pillows? They’re making headlines!]
Silk and corduroy: which
is more fragile? Which is more valuable?The answer to both questions is “silk!”
But this is not a
privilege as much as it is a responsibility!
The hardest thing you
will ever do will be a good husband and a good Father to your Children…
…Eli could run the temple but could not run his family; 1
Samuel 3:13 For I told him that I would judge his family
forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he
failed to restrain them.
Lead our flesh, families…
C. The Fallen (to Jesus)
Hosea 6:7 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all
people, because all sinned--
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will
be made alive.
A.
The Father (the Lord) (1 Cor. 13:1-3; 1 Cor.16:22)
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men or of
angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. (2) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing. (3) If I give
all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
We covered this under
leadership…how? When we said the only real leadership is loving leadership!
Further: God admonishes
every husband to "love your wife". This may seem like a strange
admonition to many. Some will say, "If I didn't loved her I wouldn't have
married her." Wait a minute, love, as used here, means far more than
affection. It means more than emotional feeling or satisfaction. It means that
you or I are going to seek the welfare and happiness of the person we are going
to love, and lead them lovingly. That means that my effort will be to make the
object of my love happy, secure, and comfortable.
This admonition goes far beyond just telling the husband to love his wife as long as she is beautiful, lovely, etc:
Joke--A man was talking
to his wife after she had done something that he did not approve of. He said to
her, "How can you be so beautiful and stupid at the same time?" She
replied, "God made me beautiful so you would love me, and He made me
stupid so I would love you."
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
loved the church and gave himself up for her
Revelation 3:9 I will make those who
are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but
are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge
that I have loved you.
Written to a church…He loves the church and so should we!
Isaiah 43:4 Since you are precious and honored in my
sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations
in exchange for your life.
John 15:5 [get connected]
John 15:5 "I am the vine;
you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Acts 2:47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all
the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved.
Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for someone among them who
would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so
I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.